To: Interested Parties
From: Craig Auster, Vice President, Political Affairs
Date: November 3, 2022
Re: LCV Action Fund 2022 Pre-Election Final Updates
LCV Action Fund Endorsements
LCV Action Fund endorsed 181 federal candidates this election cycle. You can find all of LCV Action Fund’s publicly endorsed candidates here.
Of the candidates we’ve endorsed, 38% are candidates of color, 48% are women, and 6% are LGBTQ+. Many of our endorsed candidates will be making history if elected.
In the Senate:
Mandela Barnes will be Wisconsin’s first Black senator, and he is already the first Black man to serve as Lt. governor and only the second Black statewide official in Wisconsin history.
Cheri Beasley will be North Carolina’s first Black woman senator.
Val Demings will be Florida’s first Black woman to be senator.
Kendra Horn will be Oklahoma’s first woman senator.
Evan McMullin will be Utah’s first independent senator.
Natalie Jameswill be Arkansas’s first Black senator, and she is the first Black Arkansan to win a U.S. Senate nomination and only the third Arkansas woman to be nominated by a major party for Senate.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is the first Latina in the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Alex Padilla is the first Latino Senator from California.
In the House:
Becca Balint (VT-AL) will be the first woman and first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent Vermont in Congress.
Yadira Caraveo (CO-08) will be the first Latina member of Congress to represent Colorado.
Maxwell Frost (FL-10) will be the first Gen-Z member of Congress and the first Afro-Cuban member of Congress.
Robert Garcia (CA-42) will be the first LGBTQ+ immigrant elected to Congress.
Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (WA-03) will be the first Latina Democrat to represent Washington State in Congress.
Summer Lee (PA-12) will be the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress.
Asif Mahmood (CA-40) will be the first Pakistani-American member of Congress.
Jamie McLeod-Skinner (OR-05) will be the first openly LGBTQ+ person to be elected a member of Congress from Oregon.
Heather Mizeur (MD-01) will be the first openly LGBTQ+ person to be elected a member of Congress from Maryland.
Delia Ramirez (IL-03) will be the first Latina to represent Illinois in Congress.
Andrea Salinas (OR-o6) will be the first Latina to represent Oregon in Congress.
Eric Sorensen(IL-17) will be the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to represent Illinois in Congress.
Shri Thanedar (MI-13) will be the first Indian-American to represent Michigan in Congress.
Tony Vargas (NE-02) will be the first Latino member of Congress from Nebraska.
Robert Zimmerman (NY-03) will be the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress from Long Island.
Climate on the campaign trail
While the economy and abortion rights have been central issues this election cycle, LCV Action Fund-endorsed candidates are making climate, clean energy and the environment a key part of their argument to voters across the country, from Coloradoto Rhode Island to Nevada to New York to Arizona.
In Colorado, Dr. Yadira Caraveo spoke out about the need to protect clean air for kids.
In Washington state, Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee spoke with climate activists, including LCV members, about how climate is on the ballot this year during her “Pro-Planet, Pro-Patty” town hall.
And LCV Action Fund helped our endorsed candidates push back against Dirty Dozen members like Tiffany Smiley and Joe O’Dea and anti-climate House candidate Yesli Vega, and supported them as they’ve held their opponents accountable for climate denial and being in the pocket of Big Oil, including in key Senate races in Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Washington and more.
Mobilizing LCV members through GreenRoots
In every election since 2012, the GreenRoots program has mobilized LCV members to volunteer on behalf of LCV Action Fund-endorsed candidates.
GreenRoots is one of the largest coordinated field programs in progressive politics. This year, GreenRoots is running the largest program ever, investing $2 million to recruit LCV members with over 100 organizers on-the-ground in 15 states and our first-ever national recruitment team.
To date, 8,000 LCV members have taken action to help elect 50 LCV Action Fund-endorsed federal candidates, including 13 U.S. Senate candidates. We have been sharing the stories of our members who are volunteering, such as Cynthia in Arizona and Bob in Florida. Below are some examples of this work reaching voters, building partnerships, and connecting with candidates.
LCV’s GreenRoots is part of a larger coalition of seven major national environmental organizations working together to activate millions of members across the country to help get-out-the-vote for pro-environment candidates. The other participating groups include Clean Energy for America, EDF Action, the NRDC Action Fund, National Wildlife Federation Action Fund, Sierra Club, and The Wilderness Society Action Fund. The organizations were joined by U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada for a virtual launch.
To date, GreenRoots organizers have made over 450,000 contacts to LCV members. Their recruitment efforts led 8,000 LCV membersto complete over 13,500 volunteer shifts, engaging hundreds of thousands of voters across the country through canvassing, phone banking, text banking, and letter and postcard writing. Many LCV members were trained on how to share their personal stories and to identify key issues that drive voters to the polls, strengthening their confidence as advocates, and in turn, the movement. Some highlights include:
Katie Porter speaks to a group of GreenRoots organizers and volunteers.
In California, LCV members gathered for a Day of Action where they met with U.S. Representative Katie Porter, who spoke about the value of peer-to-peer conversations. Representative Porter and U.S. Representative Mike Levin also joined over 5,000 LCV members from across the country on a tele-town hall to talk about the stakes for climate action in this election.
Senator Mark Kelly with GreenRoots organizers.
LCV members joined Senator Mark Kelly on the Northern Arizona University campus in Phoenix for a GOTV event where he spoke about his continued commitment to addressing climate change.
GreenRoots organizer Gloria alongside Senator Klobuchar during a day of action for climate champs in CO.
In Colorado, LCV members joined a group of over 50 volunteers who heard from both U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and State Senator and 7th Congressional District candidate Brittany Pettersen about the importance of the work they are doing and connected with each other as members of the climate movement.
7th Congressional District candidate Brittany Pettersen with the CO GreenRoots team.
Senator Bennet with GreenRoots organizers.
GreenRoots volunteers also attended a roundtable with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, and State Representative Jennifer Bacon. Later that afternoon, Team Colorado GreenRoots attended a campaign launch with Senator Bennet and former Senator Doug Jones, where organizers were able to meet with Senator Bennet and gave him one of our LCV for Bennet shirts, which he loved.
LCV members at an event in the 8th Congressional District to help elect Dr. Yadira Caraveo
LCV members attended a Stay Blue Barbeque event in the 8th Congressional District to help Dr. Yadira Caraveo, which, despite some rain, had a turnout of over 50 individuals, who heard inspiring words from Dr. Caraveo as well as the lead singer of musical group AJR!
LCV members and GreenRoots team kicking off a Weekend of Action with Senator Hassan in Concord, NH.
In New Hampshire, the GreenRoots team partnered up with the NH Chapter of the Sierra Club and EDF Action for a Green Canvass Launch in Concord that featured special guests U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan and former U.S. Senator Doug Jones. Following the event, LCV members knocked doors to talk with voters about voting for climate champion Senator Hassan.
First Lady Jill Biden and GreenRoots organizer Megan.
GreenRoots organizer Meghan also had the opportunity to meet First Lady Jill Biden at a GOTV rally after helping recruit LCV members to attend.
In Pennsylvania, the GreenRoots team recruited LCV members for an event called Turning Anger Into Action which featured U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon and other candidates for office.
LCV members at a rally for Mandela Barnes.
In Wisconsin, the GreenRoots team attended a weekend rally to highlight candidates fighting to protect the right to choose and stand in solidarity with the movement to reinstate Roe v. Wade. Many LCV members came together with other Mandela Barnes supporters across the Milwaukee area over the weekend to listen to and cheer on both Alexis Johnson and Mandela Barnes as they spoke to the importance of women’s reproductive rights and how vital these midterms are in determining the future of abortion rights in Wisconsin.
Senator Warnock with a Greenroots team member.
In Georgia, Senator Warnock stopped by a local campaign office where he had the opportunity to talk with a GreenRoots team member about LCV members’ excitement to re-elect him.
About LCV Action Fund
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, the connected federal political action committee (PAC) of the League of Conservation Voters, works to elect leaders who stand up for a clean, healthy environment and to defeat anti-environment candidates who oppose climate action. Since the 1990 election cycle, LCVAF has helped elect and re-elect 90 U.S. Senators and 450 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Over the last several years, our efforts have also helped elevate climate change and clean energy as critical issues in key elections.
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Paid for by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, www.lcvactionfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee
